Gopal Krishna Gandhi Awarded the 24th Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna Award

Gopal Krishna Gandhi Awarded the 24th Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna Award

Date: 31 July 2018

Awarded by: All India Congress Committee

Instituted in: 1992

Ex-governor of the state West Bengal Gopal Krishna Gandhi has been awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna Award. The award will be presented on August 20 this year, the birth anniversary of the former prime minister.

About the Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna Award:

The award was founded in 1992 by the AICC of the Indian National Congress in memory of the late Rajiv Gandhi. The mandate of the award includes the recognition of people who have worked to further communal harmony. Previous recipients include Mother Teresa, Teesta Setalvad, Muhammad Yunus, Ustad Bismillah Khan, SN Subbarao, Lata Mangeshkar and Subhadra Joshi. The award carries a commendation and a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh.

Short Biography of Gopal Krishna Gandhi:

Gopal Krishna Gandhi is the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. As an IAS officer, he served as the secretary to the President of India. Later, he was the governor of West Bengal(2004-09). He was also high commissioner of the country to South Africa and Sri Lanka. In 2017, he was the UPA candidate for the Vice Presidential elections in India. He lost to the NDA candidate Venkaiah Naidu.

The 24th Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavna Award:

The award was presented to Gandhi for his efforts to reinforce “peace, communal harmony and fight against violence”. The ceremony will be held atJawahar Bhawan in New Delhi on August 20, 2018.

Some Amazing Facts of Gopal Krishna Gandhi:

For a few months in 2006, Gopal Krishna Gandhi was also the governor of Bihar.